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Egypt
Sultanate of Egypt السلطنة المصرية (Arabic) As-Saltanah al-Misriyyah (Arabic Transliteration) Capital: Cairo (القاهرة/al-Qāhirah) Egypt, land of the Pharaohs, home of Saladin and of one of the many holy cities of Islam, Cairo (having been the home of the Fatimid Caliphs, and after 1258, the Abbasid Caliphs). This land has been ruled by the Mamluk Burji Dynasty since 1382. Despite great leaders such as the Dynasty’s founder, Barquq & Barsbay, the Burji ultimately proved ineffectual with their later monarchs, as was the case with Fakhr al-Din Uthman (whose behavior alienated many Mamluks as well as the Abbasid Caliph, who ultimately forced his deposition), and his successor Sayf ad-Din Inal. Despite this fact they were vigorous leaders in the domestic and foreign arenas, in the case of the former launching public works projects to make Cairo the jewel of the Islamic world, and in the case of the latter, successfully launching expeditions that saw the vassalization of the Crusader Kingdom of Cyprus and the Karamanid Emirate in Cilicia, as well as friendly relations with the Ottoman Empire, even celebrating the victory over the Byzantines in 1453. The next major leader of the Mamluks would be Qaitbay, who came to the Egyptian Mamluk throne in 1468. The last great Mamluk ruler of Egypt, Qaitbay was an architectural patron, establishing spectacular building projects on Cairo, Alexandria, Aleppo, Jerusalem, Mecca, Medina and several others. It was also at this time that relation with the Ottoman Empire broke down, leading to the First Ottoman-Mamluk War (1485-1491). The conflict, fought between the upstart Ottomans (and their sole ally Dulkadir) and a coalition of the Mamluks, the White Sheep Turks of Ak Koyunlu, and various Eastern Anatolian Beyliks (Karaman & Ramazan). Ultimately, the war was fought to a draw. It was during the reign of Selim I (1512-1520) to the Ottoman throne that he would embark on his greatest project, the conquest of all Egypt. Using the threat of the Timurids and the Shia-based Safavids as a pretext, Selim subjugated the Dulkardirids and invaded Syria, forcing the Sultan, Al-Ashraf Qansuh al-Ghawri, to act swiftly. Ultimately it was in vain, as Qansuh was killed in battle at Aleppo in 1516, and his son and heir (as well as the last Abbasid Caliph) was killed in battle in Alexandria in 1517. This would be followed with the capture of Cairo, completing the conquest of Egypt. For the next three centuries, Egypt would become an eyalet of the Empire, though attempts at using it as a base against the Aragonese and further conquests of North Africa ended in failure. During this period, Mamluks remained a prominent force in government, often leading to rivalries between Ottoman-appointed representatives and local Mamluks. It was common practice for the Sublime Porte to change governors at very short intervals, one time leading to a revolt in 1523-1524 when Hain Ahmed Pasha, who sought to become Grand Vizier only to be ordered executed attempt to reassert an independent Mamluk Sultanate, only to be executed on orders of Suleiman I. A second revolt, launched by Mamluk soldiers was launched in 1609, in an attempt to stop the extortative measures by successive Governor-Generals. It was put down in 1610 by Kara Mehmed Pasha, who executed the ringleaders and sent the rest to exile in Yemen. By the 18th century, the authority of the Pasha would be superseded by the Mamluk Beys through the office of Shaykh al-Balad and Amir al-Hajj. Through these offices, the Egypt Eyalet came under the control of Beys from the Qasimite and Fiqarite factions. Factional infighting however kept the troublesome province in line, as various machinations saw many pashas killed in the line of duty. This came to a head during the rule of Ali Bey in 1755, leading to yet another Egyptian rebellion (1755-1773). However, unlike the previous rebellions, Ali Bey proved to be a competent leader, catching the Ottomans while they were warring with both the Persians as well as with the Holy Roman Empire, and was briefly able to set up an independent Egyptian state, once again under Mamluk rule. Unfortunately, he died before true independence was achieved, and his efforts would be in vain, as Egypt once more became a dependency of the Porte. The Ottomans, tired of these constant rebellions and machinations, moved ahead to begin the process of eliminating the Mamluks from government. Several of them would flee outside of Ottoman-ruled lands, such as Hafsid Tunisia and Tripolitania, Persia, Morocco, Nejd and the Tartar Khanates. However those that remained led their faction in civil war against the Ottomans. Enter Muhammad al-Ma’sud Zahiri, a Bulgarian Bey who was sent in to replace the last Ottoman governor, chosen by a group of prominent Egyptians. As governor, Muhammad’s popular opinion helped keep him as governor, much to the chagrin of Sultans like Selim III and Mustafa IV. Under Muhammad, he systematically destroyed the Mamluks control over Egypt, completed in 1810. He also sought to reorganize Egyptian society by streamlining the economy, train a professional bureaucracy and build a modern military. The former he achieved with a major land reform, nationalizing all Egyptian land, to better monopolize trade, and by inviting foreign manufacturers to build weapons for the Egyptian Army. he sent promising citizens to Europe to study, with particular interest within the Anglo-French Dual Monarchy and the Crown of Aragon. Confident in his successes of modernizing the country, and taking advantage of the weakness caused from the Ottoman Civil War (1805- ), Muhammad declared his nation independent as the Sultan of Egypt in 1833, and proceeded to begin a pre-emptive invasion against Ottoman controlled Levant, triggering the Egyptian Uprising, or Egyptian Rebellion of 1833. The Hafsids, fearing the instability could spread across North Africa as well, would ally with the Ottomans in crushing this upstart. Now, surrounded by two weakened powers, can the future of Arabia rest once more with Cairo? The Zahiri’s think so, and with it, the future is bright under the aegis of the Great Saladin. List of Egyptian Monarchs: Muhammad I: 1805/1833- (House of Zahiri)